Bone loss in the jaw can occur for a number of reasons, including but not limited to: periodontal disease causing an inflammation, thereby destroying periodontal structure and bone; atrophy of the jaw bone because of a missing tooth, or teeth, such that the bone becomes inactive at the point of the missing tooth; and damage caused by an external source. If it is desired to attach a medical implant to the jaw, such as a dental implant for a missing tooth, a sufficient amount of bone must be present in order for the implant to be properly attached to the bone. However, if bone loss has occurred there may not be a sufficient amount of bone.
Bone augmentation is a process of causing the bone to regenerate, thereby increasing the amount of bone in the area destined for the medical implant. Vertical bone augmentation is a process where a structure is attached to a bone surface of an area exhibiting a bone defect, i.e. bone loss, the structure extending outward from the bone surface. Bone augmentation material is then disposed within the structure thereby allowing the defected bone to grow. Vertical bone augmentation is used in cases where the bone loss is such that no structure exists in the remaining bone for placement of the bone augmentation material.
Materials typically used for producing structures arranged to hold bone augmentation material for bone augmentation are: calcium phosphates, such as hydroxylapatite and tricalcium phosphate; calcium sulphate; calcium carbonate; and bioactive glass. Unfortunately, these materials are of limited strength and porosity. Thus, the size and effectiveness of the structures used for vertical bone augmentation are limited.
Various techniques have been developed to serve as containers for vertical bone augmentation, with limited success. U.S. Pat. No. 7,771,482 issued Aug. 10, 2010 to Karmon is addressed to bioresorbable inflatable devices, a tunnel incision tool and methods for treating and enlarging a tissue or an organ or a tube or a vessel or a cavity. The device is composed of a hollow expanding pouch made of a resorbable material that can be attached to a filling element. Unfortunately, such hollow expanding pouch is not ideally suited for use with oral bone augmentation, where excessive mechanical pressures on the pouch may be experienced.
Thus, there is a long felt need for a structure arranged to have bone augmentation material disposed therein to provide for vertical bone augmentation, the structure exhibiting properties superior to the structures of the prior art.